Adventures After the Cup 2
by Fossilfighter1313
Summary: I decided to start over and remake my stories. This is my remake of Adventures after the Cup. Rated T for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1: Tragedy Strikes

**So like I said in my notice, I am remaking my stories. This is Adventures After the Cup 2! The basic storyline will be similar, but not quite the same. If you want to suggest OCs, go ahead and I'll see if I can fit them in. No promises though.**

**Major characters:**

**Dina**

**Todd**

**Rupert**

**Pauleen**

**Selena (later in the story)**

**Banette (later in the story)**

**And my OCs that will appear later, as well as possibly some reader-suggested OCs.**

**Pairings are the usual DinaxRupert and ToddxPauleen.**

**On with the story!**

*Dina's POV*

My name is Dina Johnson. I am 18 years old. Seven years ago, I became a fossil fighter, the champion of the Caliosteo Cup, and the savior of the world from the evil Zongazonga. But a lot has happened since then. One of those things is my relationship with Rupert. Todd and Pauleen are also together now. This became official three years ago. But those things are as close to normal events as we'll ever get anymore. The adventures we've had lately have given us new friends and qualities that make us wonder if "normal" exists anymore. Let me tell you about some of our recent adventures. I know just where I should start.

Chapter 1: Tragedy Strikes

We were hiking through the forest around Treasure Lake. I wanted to know what was there, but no one else wanted to go find out. After all, it isn't part of the dig site, so technically we weren't supposed to be there. Little did we know, a simple hike was about to change our lives forever.

"Remind me again why we're even here?" Rupert complained.

"To have fun and see what's out here!" I replied cheerfully.

"We're not even supposed to be here." Todd said. "The only reason the staff member didn't stop us is because we're the Patrol Team and you're the savior of the world. They would have stopped us if you weren't the one who killed Zongazonga four years ago. Plus, I don't even see why you find hiking so fun. My feet are killing me."

"Oh, stop whining, digadig!" Pauleen shouted. "I'm wearing sandals, and that makes this hike a lot less comfortable for me, but you diga-don't hear me whining!"

"All of you shut up!" I shouted. "And if you don't, I'll release Ace on you!"

Ace is my Nycto Ace. I just shortened his name. But they're all afraid of him because he has a tendency to bite and claw at people when he's angry. He actually tried to eat Todd once and he almost took one of Pauleen's ponytails off in another incident. Rupert never had any major issues besides Ace tearing his coat. He's lucky I know how to sew.

Anyways, we got to a large clearing. It seemed to be well-managed for being in the middle of the forest. The grass wasn't very tall like you would expect in the middle of nowhere. It was almost as if someone was living there or something. But there were no creatures around and no visible structures that could possibly be a home to anyone, so I dismissed the thought. We decided to stop and rest. I took off my backpack, opened it, pulled out a lunchbox for each of us, and handed them out to the others. I know how to make everyone's favorite lunch foods, which really comes in handy when I'm the one that cooks for us. Todd and Pauleen also know how to cook, but Rupert… He has no clue how to cook. You'd think with the way he was raised, he would be able to make more than just sandwiches, but that's not the case.

We were enjoying our meals when suddenly a loud screech echoed through the forest. It sounded like a Coatlus, so I just assumed it was from a fossil battle back at the lake.

Just as we finished eating and were getting ready to continue our hike, a large shadow covered the area we were in. I looked up and saw the silhouette of what looked like a large bird. Then the screech rang out again and the bird, which was actually a Coatlus dove towards the ground. At the last second, It pulled up and flew at us at such a high speed that we jumped as soon as we saw it dive and we still barely managed to dodge it in time.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Rupert shouted. The Coatlus pulled a U-turn, barely even slowing down, and flew at us again. The others ran into the forest, trying to get as far away as they could. Rupert tackled me out of the way, but in the process, my medal case was knocked out of my pocket. It landed a few feet away, but it was too far away to reach from where I was standing. But something else was wrong. Rupert didn't even move after he tackled me. He was just laying on top of me. I rolled him off of me, but when I reached for my medals, I saw that my arm was covered in blood.

"Wha…?" I said in shock. Then I realized the white T-shirt that I was literally soaked in blood, as well. Even though I didn't care at the time, I wouldn't have worn a white shirt and blue jean shorts that day if I had known something like this would happen. Thinking back, I don't know why I wore those clothes to go hiking in the first place. Sorry, I'm getting off-topic. Anyways, I didn't see any major injuries on me, let alone any that could have released that much blood that quickly.

Then it hit me.

"RUPERT!" I shouted. I picked up my medal case and threw two of the medals: Ace and Teffla. The Coatlus turned and charged at us again. Ace created a wave of wind to slow the Coatlus down enough for a powerful Teffla Dive right in its face to strike it down. It disappeared, but no medal appeared as it did. I didn't have time to worry about that though. I left my vivosaurs out, knowing that we needed them so we could make a quick escape before anything else went wrong. I ran to Rupert. He wasn't moving and there was a large puddle of blood around him. I rolled him over to find the injury. I screamed when I saw it. There was a deep slice across his back that was gushing blood. The Coatlus' beak had stabbed him and sliced right through his spine, nearly cutting him in half. If he was even alive still, he was definitely not going to live. I put my hand over my mouth, feeling like I was about to vomit from the shock of seeing this. After that feeling subsided, I picked him up and put my fingers on his neck to check for a pulse.

Nothing.

Rupert was dead.

I sat there, holding his lifeless body and cried for what seemed like hours before the others returned and saw what happened. It was actually only about five minutes, but it seemed much longer due to the shock.

"Guys, you get on Teffla and get out of here!" I said to the others. "Ace, I need you to get us to the hospital! I doubt they can do anything, but we have to try…"

"Dina…" Todd said sadly.

"He's gone, digadig." Pauleen said. "We can't change that now."

"JUST GET ON THE DAMN TEFFLA AND GO!" I shouted as loud as I could. Teffla didn't look happy about that statement, but the others climbed on her back and she flew them away from the forest anyways. I carried Rupert's body over my shoulders as I climbed onto Ace's back. He took off at high speed, soaring above the dig site and heading towards the hospital.

Then I thought of something.

"Ace, forget about the hospital!" I said. "Land in front of the fighter station!"

_Please tell me you're not-_ he started over the telepathic link I had with him.

"Just do it!" I shouted. Without another word, he obeyed the command. He dove down and landed next to the fighter station. I climbed off of him and he returned to his medal, which I put in my case. I picked up Rupert's body and ran inside. The staff members and the other fighters freaked out when they saw the fact that I was soaked in blood and carrying a dead person over my shoulder, but I ignored them as I ran to the cleaning room. I ran straight to the revival machine and put Rupert's body into it, despite the objections from KL-33N and the lady at the DP exchange booth. I slammed the hatch shut, latched it, and activated the machine. Electricity crackled through the machine and struck his body. A bright flash filled the machine and faded to reveal Rupert standing inside it, completely healed. I opened the hatch, waited for him to climb out, then shut the hatch and hugged him.

"Can't… breathe…" he said in a strained voice. I realized I was hugging him too tightly and let go until he caught his breath. Then I wrapped my arms around him again, though not as tightly this time, and kissed him, despite us being in public. I don't like displaying our love in public too much, but I didn't care this time, just like I didn't care about my blood-stained outfit at the time. I was just glad to have my boyfriend back.

After a moment, we separated and I briefly explained what happened. But then Rupert realized something.

"Wait… If I was revived with the machine that turns fossils into vivosaurs… does that mean-?" he started, but he was cut off as another flash of light engulfed him. When it faded, a dino medal with Rupert's picture on it flew to my hand. I sighed as I threw it and released him again.

"Looks like you're a vivosaur now, Rupert…" I said. "We should talk to Joe about this. Maybe he'll know more about what to do in this situation…"

"Good idea." Rupert replied. "But maybe we should talk to Todd and Pauleen first so they don't worry about us."

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea." I replied. "Let's go."

With that, we left the cleaning room and headed to the hospital to get Todd and Pauleen, leaving a confused cleaning robot and a shocked staff member behind.

**And that's all for this chapter! Yeah, I know it's way different, but I warned you that it would be. Let me know what you think, and keep reading and reviewing!**


	2. Chapter 2: Back From the Dead

**Chapter 2 is here! Hope you like it! And from now on the story will be in Dina's POV unless otherwise stated. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 2: Back From the Dead

When we got outside, I released Ace again. He gave me what looked like an angry glare, knowing what I had just done.

"Oh don't even give me that look." I told him. "I brought you back from the dead, didn't I?"

_Yes, but him being revived isn't what I'm worried about._ He replied telepathically. Usually, only the vivosaur's owner can hear the telepathic conversations. But their vivosaurs are also able to communicate with each other in this way.

"What do you mean, 'that's not what you're worried about?'" Rupert asked, clearly having heard Ace.

_No one has ever revived a human with the revival machine before. _Ace replied after glaring at Rupert for a moment. _Or at least if they did, no one knows about it except them and the person that revived them. This could have unpredictable side effects. After all, it gives appearance changes and special abilities to us dinosaurs, so what's to say it won't do something to him? Also, you realize that after a while, he may return to his medal on his own like he did back in the cleaning room, right? The only good thing about that is that each vivosaur has a unique 'medal world' that adapts to his or her preferences._

Now he had me worried. If what he said was true, the consequences of this could be worse than having him back was worth.

"If anything happens to me, we'll just have to deal with it when the time comes." Rupert said. "Now are we going to stand here and argue or go get Todd and Pauleen?"

_Fine. Climb on and I'll fly you to the hospital._ Ace replied in a frustrated tone. We both climbed on his back and he took off, soaring for about half a mile before landing in front of the Ribular Town Hospital. It was a large sky blue building with windows lining the exterior of it. There was one window in each of the rooms around the perimeter of the six-floor building.

We climbed off of Ace's back and he returned to his medal. I put it in my case and we walked into the building. Todd and Pauleen were sitting in a couple of folding chairs on the far side of the waiting room. We walked over to them. Pauleen was the first to look up. When she did, she screamed, jumped up, and hugged him, clearly happy to see that he was alive. This, of course, attracted everyone's attention, but when they saw her hugging him, they dismissed it as a scream of joy. Which is really what it was.

I managed to get her to let go so she wouldn't crush him like I almost did. Then I jokingly said, "Hey, he's **my** boyfriend. Get your own." Then I looked at Todd and both of them laughed nervously, seeming to get the hint. They had actually admitted that they liked each other. They just hadn't admitted it **to **each other. In other words, they told me and Rupert. So, we liked to tease them about it and see if they would ever just confess, but they were always too nervous.

After they calmed down, Todd was the first to speak up.

"By the way, you probably want this back." He said as he reached into his bag and pulled out my Teffla medal. He handed it to me and I put it back in my case.

"Thanks, Todd." I said. "Why don't we head back to my house and I'll explain everything. I would rather not discuss this situation in public…"

"Why not, digadig?" Pauleen asked.

"Just trust me." I replied with a hint of irritation in my tone.

"Weren't we going to talk to Joe first?" Rupert asked.

"Oh yeah…" I said. "I forgot about that."

"So where should we go then?" Todd asked.

"I think we should talk to Joe." I suggested. "Then I can get his advice and explain everything at the same time."

"Sounds good to me." Rupert replied.

"Then let's go." Todd said. "I hate this place anyways. The sooner we leave the better."

Todd has a strange fear of hospitals. He still won't tell me why, but I've decided it's not worth questioning him about.

We started to walk outside, but someone walked up to us before I could even get out my medals. The person was a girl that looked slightly older than me, maybe by two or three years. She had light skin and a fair build. She had shoulder-length brown hair, and eyes the color of rubies. That was somewhat disturbing to me. Most people don't have red eyes. She was wearing a pink tank top, blue jeans, yellow shoes, and a neon green beanie. She also had a turquoise jacket on, but she kept it open in the front. I thought it was weird that she was wearing an outfit like that with the heat probably being in the high 80s to low 90s. She clearly loved bright colors though.

Around her neck was a heart-shaped locket on a silver chain. The locket was coated in what looked like ruby, but it may have been fake. It's hard to tell whether gems are fake or not just by looking at them. But the strangest feature was that a small ruby crystal about the length of my thumb with pointed tips appeared to be embedded in her upper chest, the top point resting just between her collarbones.

_She creeps me out. I can sense something strange about her. Should I even talk to her? _I thought. Memories of my childhood that I would rather not talk about right now returned to me. _Should I trust her?_

"Are you alright?" she asked. I saw her waving her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention. "Hello…?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I said as I snapped out of my thoughts.

"You seemed like you were in a trance or something and your shirt is soaked with blood." She said. "I can tell it's not yours, judging by your lack of injuries and the fact that you wouldn't be conscious if you lost that much blood, but it still concerns me… Also, you might want to wear something over that for now…"

I looked at my shirt and realized that she was right. I was still soaked in Rupert's blood. And my shirt was somewhat transparent from it, though the fact that it was blood and not water made it less see-through. Still, it was embarrassing to know that I had been running around like that and no one bothered to point it out until now. At least I wear a sports bra under my clothes...

"Here." she said, starting to take off her jacket. "You can have this."

"No, that's okay." I said. "I'm heading home right now anyways."

"Well… okay…" she said as she adjusted the jacket to put it back on. "Just be careful."

As she adjusted it, I thought I caught a glimpse of something silver on her back, but I didn't make an issue about it.

Once she finished fixing the jacket, she walked away. Once she was out of hearing range, I glared at the others. "You can't tell me you guys didn't notice my shirt was see-through, so why didn't anyone point it out?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"We didn't want to point it out in public…" Todd replied.

"It would be awkward to say anything in front of others…" Rupert said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"Whatever." I said with a sigh. "Let's go to my house so I can get a new outfit, then we can visit Joe."

I released Ace and Teffla. Todd and Pauleen got on Teffla and Rupert and I got on Ace. Both took off and started flying towards my house. I saw something flying in the distance that didn't look like a vivosaur I recognized, but I wasn't close enough to tell for sure. It didn't matter to me at the time though.

A while later, we landed in front of my house. I retrieved my medals and we all went inside. I went to my room, grabbed a change of clothes, and walked to the bathroom that was built into my room to take a shower. I needed to get the blood off of my skin too. I don't like the sight of blood. I don't like the feel of it touching my skin either.

After my shower, which made me feel somewhat sick from the sight and feel of that much blood, I put on my normal fighter outfit, grabbed a few important items, and walked back to the living room to talk to the others. They looked a bit impatient, but they didn't say anything about it.

"Alright, let's go." I said.

The others followed me outside. I released Ace, but before I could release Teffla, Pauleen released a Dimorph Ace.

"Race you to the tower, digadig!" she shouted as her and Todd climbed on Dimorph Ace's back. "You're on!" I shouted back. Rupert and I quickly climbed on my Nycto Ace's back and we both took off at the same time. Within a few minutes, we landed in front of Cranial City's fighter station and retreated our vivosaurs into their respective medals.

"We won!" I shouted as I hi-fived Rupert.

"No, if anything that was a tie, digadig!" Pauleen shouted.

"Either way you didn't win." Rupert said.

"He has a point unfortunately…" Todd said, earning him a smack on the back of the head from Pauleen. "What was that for?!" he shouted.

"You know exactly what, digadig." Pauleen replied.

"Let's just go." I said with a sigh. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"I agree with Dina." Rupert said.

"Fine…" Todd and Pauleen said at the same time, only Pauleen added "digadig" at the end.

And with that, we walked into the station and headed straight to the elevator.

_This is going to be interesting…_ I thought as we stepped into the elevator.

_No kidding…_ Rupert replied telepathically.

_How can you read my thoughts?_ I asked him.

_Vivosaurs can do that with their owners. _He replied.

_Great…_ I thought, hoping he wouldn't hear. He didn't respond to it, though, so I guess it didn't matter either way.

The elevator started the climb to the top of the building. All I could think about was the craziness that was probably about to occur.

**And I'm ending this chapter here. If you know who the mystery girl is or think you know, please do not spoil it by posting it in the reviews. Let me know what you think! Keep reading and reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Enemy Strikes

**Chapter 3 is here! I'm not going to do much as far as Joe's accent because I'm not really familiar enough with the type of accent he uses to be able to imitate it properly. Sorry about that, but I'll still try somewhat. That said, on with the chapter!**

Chapter 3: The Enemy Strikes

Once the elevator reached the top, we stepped off of the platform into Joe's suite. He was standing next to the window and staring at the sky. Not surprisingly, he didn't immediately turn around. He likes watching the sky because it helps him relax. Or at least that's what he tells everyone.

"Hi Joe!" Todd shouted, excited to see him. He still practically idolized Joe. Joe finally turned around to see us after that.

"Howdy, pards!" he said. "Whaddaya need?"

"Well, we came to talk to you about a strange situation we have." Rupert explained.

"It involves me and Rupert mainly." I added.

"Okay…" Joe said. "What kinda situation are we talking about?"

"Well earlier we went for a hike in the forest by Treasure Lake." I explained. "We got attacked by a Coatlus, and before I killed it with Ace and Teffla, it killed Rupert."

"If that's the case, how's he standing here?" Joe asked, clearly skeptical.

"I kind of… brought him back with the revival machine…" I replied nervously.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Joe, Pauleen, and Todd all shouted at once. Pauleen, of course, added "digadig" at the end, but that's not important.

"Do you even realize how dangerous that could be to Rupert?" Joe asked in a worried tone.

"With some help from Ace, I learned that after I had already revived him." I explained. "But there is a bit of a side effect we wanted to discuss with you."

"And what would that be?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This." Rupert said. A white light engulfed him and shrank into a small white ball that flew back to my hand and became Rupert's medal. The medal was a solid gold color with a full-body image of Rupert on the front. There was no colored ring or stripes to indicate his element, but the gold color meant that as a vivosaur, he would be rank 20. After a moment I threw the medal and released him again.

No one spoke for a moment, clearly trying to let this sink in. Joe was the first to speak up.

"So let me get this straight. You turned Rupert into a vivosaur?" Joe asked.

"Yeah…" I replied nervously. "But the reason I came here is because I was hoping you could give us advice on how this would work."

"Well, from what I can guess, it'd work just like a regular dino medal, only he'd probably be able to stay out for longer and be able to use the medal form anytime." Joe explained. "But as far as stuff like fossil battling, I dunno if he'd be usable as a vivosaur, or even if his own vivosaurs would be usable. In other words, he technically might not even be able to be a fossil fighter anymore."

"We'll have to find out when the time comes then." I said.

Joe nodded. "But I have a word of advice for y'all." He said. "Try not to let him get hurt too much. I dunno if he'd survive and heal in the medal like a normal vivosaur, or if he'd die. I doubt y'all wanna find out either."

"No, I don't." Rupert replied. "One death was bad enough. I don't want to go through that again, especially if I might survive it and be in pain until it heals."

"I don't blame you, pard." Joe said.

"Have you ever heard of something like this happening before?" I asked.

"Can't say that I have, Dina." Joe replied. "But Professor Scatterly might have. You can go talk to him if you wanna know."

"It's really not that big of a deal." Rupert responded.

"And I really don't want to sit through another of his stories…" Todd added.

"They are kinda boring sometimes…" I replied.

"Let's just go home then." Rupert suggested.

"I second that idea, digadig." Pauleen said.

"Same here." Todd said.

"Then let's go." I said. "Bye, Joe!"

"Adios!" he responded as we stepped onto the elevator platform. "Oh wait, one more thing about Rupert! Don't let him get too far away! He'll probably return to his medal if you do!"

"That could be a problem…" Rupert said as the elevator descended.

"We'll figure it out." I said. "Your father might not be too happy about this though."

"I don't want to tell him." Rupert replied. "Not yet, anyways."

"What if he gets suspicious with you staying at my house every night?" I asked.

"I'll figure something out." He said.

"Okay…" I replied, a bit nervously.

"Let's just go home." Todd said. "We can discuss everything there."

"He's right." Rupert replied.

Just then, the elevator opened. We stepped out, walked downstairs, and left the fighter station. I got out my medal case so I could release Ace and Teffla to give us a ride home, but as I was about to release them, I saw someone in a nearby tree. I couldn't see them clearly because the leaves and shadows obscured my view, but I saw enough to tell it was a human, and I knew they were watching us. And that meant we needed to get out of there right then.

"Pauleen, get out Dimorph Ace and get out of here now." I said.

"Why, digadig?" Pauleen asked.

"There's someone watching us from the trees." I replied. "We need to go now."

Without another word, she released Dimorph Ace. Her and Todd climbed on his back and took off at high speed, ending up out of our sight in less than five seconds. I put Teffla's medal back, but before I could throw Ace's medal, the person jumped out of the tree.

The person turned out to be a tall girl with very dark brown hair and bright orange eyes. Her hair was tied in a ponytail that was long enough to reach her waist. She wore a black t-shirt and black shorts, but the real issue was that attached to her belt on her left hip was a huge katana in a sheath. It had to be about five or six feet long. She put her right hand on the hilt and was about to pull the sword out of its sheath when another girl with short silver hair and orange eyes jumped out of another tree holding a black broadsword with an orange stripe down the middle of the blade. This girl was wearing the same basic outfit, only dark orange instead of black. As she jumped down, the silver-haired girl swung her sword at the brown-haired girl, who blocked the attack with the sheath of her katana. It apparently had a quick-release from her belt so she could do that in emergencies.

As soon as the two objects collided, a loud _clang_ sounded out through the town and orange sparks were thrown from the colliding weapons. The sound alerted some of the people in the town to the two fighters. Some of them started watching the fight, thinking it was an act. Others ran away, knowing that swordfights weren't normal on the islands and that something was wrong.

The silver-haired girl pulled her sword back and slashed at her opponent again, only to be blocked by the sheathed katana again. This cycle continued for a few more swings, but then the brown-haired girl pulled her katana out of the sheath and swung at the silver-haired girl. The silver blade sliced through the air, aimed straight at the silver-haired girl's throat. The silver-haired girl tried to dodge by ducking and leaning to her left. The sound of the blade slicing through cloth and flesh was clearly audible, even over the spectators' voices. The silver-haired girl managed to avoid getting decapitated, but she received a deep slice in her upper arm and lost a small amount of hair as the blade struck her right shoulder instead. The silver-haired girl barely reacted to the pain or the blood running down her arm, but the bystanders must have realized that this was no longer an act by the fact that the injury was clearly real. Some of them stood there, frozen in fear. Several others ran away. Rupert and I just stood there and watched from where we were. We didn't know what to do or think about this.

Since the silver-haired girl survived the attack, this gave her a brief advantage. Since a katana can only slice with one side, the brown-haired girl had to shift her grip and flip the sword before she could slash again. The silver-haired girl took advantage of this opening and sliced open the brown-haired girl's left forearm, causing her to drop the sword, which landed a short distance away.

Unfortunately, the sword was still close enough that she could easily get to it. And as the silver-haired girl slashed at her opponent again, the brown-haired girl rolled out of the way, grabbed her sword, and stood up, all in one move. She then charged at an unnaturally high speed and slashed at the silver-haired girl again. The silver-haired girl blocked the attack with her own sword, sending more sparks through the air. The brown-haired girl pulled her own sword out of the sword lock and ducked to avoid losing her head as the other sword finished its swing. She picked up her katana's sheath and swung both her sword and its sheath at the same time. Both were blocked as the silver-haired girl raised her sword and pushed them both away. The brown-haired girl's katana swung through the air again, but was blocked once more. I was surprised the katana wasn't breaking from the force it was hitting the sharp edge of the heavier broadsword with, but I was too interested in the battle to care at the time.

"Go!" the silver-haired girl shouted to us as she held the other girl back. "Get out of here, now!"

That snapped me out of my thoughts almost immediately. I released Ace and Rupert climbed on his back. I was about to do the same when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the brown-haired girl jab the silver-haired girl with the sheath. The silver-haired girl fell backwards, dropping the sword as she did. I knew she was in trouble now. The brown-haired girl thrust her sword straight towards the silver-haired girl, who rolled out of the way just in time to avoid getting stabbed.

However, the direction in which she rolled increased the distance between her and the sword. The brown-haired girl pulled her katana out of the ground and put it back in its sheath, which she propped against a tree next to her. The silver-haired girl reached for her sword, but the brown-haired girl kicked it away, somehow not cutting her foot on the sharp edge in the process. She then stomped on the silver-haired girl's right arm. A sickening _crunch_ and a brief scream of pain was heard from the silver-haired girl as her arm was broken as if it was a twig. I winced and felt nauseous just from hearing that noise and knowing what caused it. The silver-haired girl stood up after a moment and punched the brown-haired girl in the face with her left arm, resulting in the brown-haired girl getting a bloody nose and a split lip. She swung her fist again, but the brown-haired girl caught it with her right hand and twisted the silver-haired girl's arm behind her back, dislocating her shoulder. She winced and tried to break out of the hold she was in, but being unable to use either arm while she had her back to her opponent made that almost impossible. The brown-haired girl then reached into her left pocket as she held her opponent by her dislocated arm. She pulled out a silvery object. I instantly realized what it was.

"Look out!" I shouted to the silver-haired girl. "She has a gun!"

But by the time I finished the sentence, it was too late for the silver-haired girl to react. The silver-haired girl tried to twist out of her opponent's grip, but the brown-haired girl jabbed the silver handgun into her opponent's back and pulled the trigger before she could break free. A loud _bang_ echoed through the area as the gun fired a bullet into the silver-haired girl's body at point-blank range. The bullet pierced completely through her body and flew into the ground in front of her. Two dark red dots appeared on the silver-haired girl's shirt; one over the left side of her chest and one on her back just to the left of her spine. The dots quickly spread out as blood poured from her wounds. She dropped to her knees, blood dripping from her mouth, as well, then fell forward, hitting the ground with a thud. Blood quickly started pooling around her. At this point, the few remaining bystanders ran away, screaming in fear and thinking that they might be the next to get shot if they stayed.

I was in total shock now. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I couldn't even move. I was frozen in shock over watching someone get killed right in front of me. I didn't even think before my next action. It was probably the stupidest move I could have made at that time.

"Idiot..." the brown-haired girl mumbled, though it was still loud enough that I heard it from at least ten yards away. "Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?'"

"Says the one that brought a giant katana to one!" I shouted in an attempt to distract her. She glanced over to me long enough to say, "Don't screw around with me, kid." before turning her attention back to the silver-haired girl.

The brown haired girl pointed her gun at the silver-haired girl's head. As she did, I ran, not towards Ace, but towards the brown-haired girl. I picked up the silver-haired girl's broadsword as I charged, despite having no experience with a sword. The weapon was much lighter than I expected for the size of the blade. The scraping sound of the sword being briefly dragged along the ground as I picked it up was enough to fully draw her attention away from the other girl, giving me a window of opportunity to attack. I swung the sword at her arm as she pointed the gun at me instead. I managed to knock the gun from her hand just as she pulled the trigger, causing the gun to miss and shoot into the trunk of a tree instead. The rest of the slash took a chunk of flesh off of her arm. The gun landed several feet away, definitely out of her reach. I swung again, this time aiming for her head.

Unfortunately, she dodged it, picked up her katana, pulled it out of the sheath, and slashed at my leg with it, all in one swift motion. I didn't even feel the blade hit me, but I collapsed from the injury I received, dropping the sword as I fell. I sat up after a moment and saw that she had sliced completely through the upper part of my left thigh. It sliced right below my hip and severed my leg, which was lying on the ground a few feet from the bloody stub that it was once part of. A puddle of blood quickly spread out from my body, quickly filling the gap between me and the severed limb and spreading beyond it.

I couldn't think at all as the shock set in and I fell back to the ground. I barely even noticed as a green-and-red blur shot past me and crashed right into the girl as she was re-sheathing her sword. My vision began to blur from the mix of the shock and the blood loss as the girl disappeared from my sight. She was soon replaced with a red and white blur that I knew was Rupert. I heard him shouting my name in a panicked voice, but it sounded far away, even though he was right next to me. He knelt down next to me and shook my shoulder, trying to get me to respond, but I couldn't move or speak. I was too weak already.

I saw him take off his coat, and a few seconds later I faintly felt the pressure of something tightening around my upper thigh. I could tell he was using his coat as a tourniquet to stop what was left of my leg from bleeding out, even though I was unable to see clearly enough to confirm this. By this time, I was getting tunnel vision. The darkness started spreading towards the center of my vision and slowly filling the gaps as I started to pass out. With the small amount of sight I had left, I saw Rupert turn to the other girl, who was right next to me, and touch her neck, checking for a pulse. After a moment, he pulled out his phone, but I didn't know who he called or what he said because before he could even finish dialing, I had slipped out of consciousness.

**And that's chapter 3. I changed the incident to this because I didn't really like my original idea too much and it didn't really make as much sense. Also, I know that there are no trees on Cranial, but this is four years after the game, so the landscape is a bit different. This idea also revealed that they are being attacked now instead of waiting a few chapters like the old one. Overall, this just seemed to work a lot better in my opinion. Anyways, keep reading and reviewing!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Life-Changing Loss

**Chapter 4 is here! For those of you who read the original, you know what's going to happen now. For those who don't know, read to find out! On with the chapter!**

Chapter 4: A Life-Changing Loss

My eyes slowly opened. My vision was blurry, but after a few minutes, it started to clear up. I saw a white ceiling with a few sets of fluorescent lights in it. I knew right away that I was lying down. I felt pain in my lower body and my head, so I knew I was still alive and awake. I heard a steady beeping noise, a few scattered beeps, clicks, and other sounds of different tones and rhythms, as well as a soft hissing noise. I could tell right away that I was in a hospital room.

I turned my head to look around. I realized I was hooked up to various machines, some of which included monitors for my heart rate, blood pressure, and other things that I didn't know the meaning or importance of, as well as an IV drip and an oxygen mask. I looked down and saw that I was wearing one of those stupid hospital gowns that are open in the back and barely cover my torso. They're one of the many reasons I hate hospitals. They never have a gown that's long enough to cover my body but short enough to avoid tripping me if I stand up and try to walk.

I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. I was still too weak. But my attempt at moving caught the attention of a passing nurse. She said something that I couldn't hear to one of the other workers before walking into my room.

"Oh, good. You're awake." The nurse said. "My name is Kira, and I am the nurse currently assigned to your room."

"Hi, Kira." I said, but my voice was so weak it almost sounded like a whisper. "I'm Dina."

I looked at her for a moment. Her appearance had a strange resemblance to mine, though she seemed a bit older. Her hair and eye colors were the same, but those were the only major resemblances that stood out, so I dismissed it as a coincidence.

"Nice to meet you, Dina." Kira said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Um… a boy and a girl stopped by yesterday saying they were your friends, and they wanted us to give you this." She put my medal case on a tray next to the bed.

"Todd and Pauleen, I'm guessing…" I said, my voice starting to gain its strength back.

"I don't know their names, but I'm going to just say it probably was them." she replied.

"So what's going on?" I asked.

"Um… I'm not sure how I should explain this…" Kira started. She took a deep breath. "When you got here, you were unconscious. Your left leg had been sliced off and you had lost a lot of blood. If the coat around your leg had not been there, you would have bled to death. We did a blood transfusion to fix the blood loss issue. However, due to the extent of the damage to your leg, we were unable to reattach it. Unfortunately, your left leg is completely gone. We tried to fix it, but the damage was so severe that we can't even make a prosthetic for it. Not without serious reconstructive surgery, that is."

"I was afraid of that…" I said sadly. I sat up and moved the sheet over my lower body. I saw nothing from my hip down on my left side. All that was there was a rounded patch that covered the hip socket. It was covered with gauze and cloth padding to hold the damaged section together while it healed, as well as to stop any bleeding. Large strips of surgical tape wrapped around it and across my lower body to hold it all in place. Judging by the lack of blood and the fact that the padding was clean and clearly brand-new, I judged that it had been changed at least once or twice since the surgery to close the wounds. This meant I had probably been unconscious for quite a while.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"You've been in a coma for about four days." She replied. "We were starting to wonder if you were even going to come back."

"Four days?!" I half-shouted. My voice was still too weak to actually shout.

She nodded. "However, that girl that was brought in with you is not doing too well." She explained.

"You mean the silver-haired girl with the orange eyes that got shot in the lung trying to protect me?" I asked.

"Yes." She replied. "She woke up last night. However, although she is awake and the bleeding has been stopped, her right lung has been disabled by the damage. She can't breathe well on her own because she can only breathe with one lung. She can breathe and speak to an extent, but she is in a lot of pain right now. We managed to close her other wounds and fix her dislocated arm, but her right arm was pretty much shattered. We put supporting plates in it for now, but we're hoping it will heal at least somewhat. We can't release either of you yet, but if you want, you can visit her, since she seems to be an acquaintance of yours."

"Okay." I said. "I wanted to talk to her anyways, but I thought she was going to die for sure."

"Okay." Kira said. "Hold on and I'll get you a wheelchair."

She left the room, then returned with a folding wheelchair about five minutes later. She unfolded it and unhooked a few machines from me, including the vital monitors, but she left the IV drip in my arm. Then she picked me up, carefully set me in the wheelchair, handed me my medal case, and started pushing me through the halls.

"Thanks, Kira." I said.

"You're welcome, Dina." She replied, a smile crossing her face for a moment.

After a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. Kira knocked on the door, earning a strained "Come in…" as a response. Kira pushed my wheelchair into the room. What I saw was actually better than I was expecting, but still bad.

The girl had the same types of machines hooked up to her as I did. Through the gaps in the sides and top of her hospital gown, large strips of surgical tape and cloth were visible wrapping around her upper body and her shoulders. Her right arm had a cast and was in a sling. As Kira said, she seemed to have difficulty breathing. Her breathing sounded more like wheezing and her voice was weak.

"You…" the girl said. "I told you to run…"

"And the way I was raised, I don't just stand by and watch people get murdered right in front of me." I stated. "I help them as much as I can. That's why I picked up your sword and knocked the gun out of her hand. She was about to shoot you again, and if she would have, you'd be dead for sure. She was aiming at your head… I wasn't thinking, and my stupidity cost me one of my legs…"

"No…" she said. "Your bravery may have cost you a leg, but it saved us both…"

"Actually, Rupert saved us." I explained. "He flew my Nycto Ace right into her and knocked her out. He called the paramedics to pick us up. He even used his favorite coat as a tourniquet to stop me from bleeding to death."

"You're a brave girl." The girl said. Her voice seemed to be gaining its strength back quickly, which I thought was strange. "Your friend is brave, too, but you're the one who risked her life to save someone you don't even know."

"Yeah…" I replied. "Speaking of which, what is your name?"

The girl sighed. "My name is Argis." She replied. "That's it. No last name. I'm just… Argis."

"That's an interesting name." I said. "My name is Dina Johnson. Why don't you have a last name?"

"Because I don't know who my family is…" She replied sadly. Her voice was almost back to normal, but it was quiet now because she was practically crying. "I never met them. My dad was killed before I was born and my mom died giving birth to me. I never had any siblings, either. Or at least that's what I was told by the people that adopted me… Even they said they didn't know my family's last name. No one did. So I just lived without one my whole life. Seventeen years without a last name or any records of my real family. But I do have a few qualities that are not what you would call 'normal…' I'll explain once I get my strength back though."

"You seem to be gaining it back already, judging by your voice." I said, slightly suspicious.

"That's one of my 'gifts.'" She replied. "I heal approximately ten times faster than an average human."

"Sounds like you have supernatural gifts." Kira said. "Try not to use them too much, especially around me."

"Why? Do you have unique abilities too?" Argis asked, sounding a bit surprised. "Or are you just an anti-magic kind of person?"

"My body can generate invisible auras that can have various effects on objects." Kira explained. "My major one is automatic. I can control its release and range when I need to, but otherwise it activates on its own. And if a supernatural phenomenon occurs inside that aura and I don't create it, it is negated. In other words, I have a tendency to accidentally cancel supernatural events…"

"Sounds useful." I said.

"Sounds dangerous." Argis said.

"It's both actually." Kira explained. "I should probably leave before I disable your healing powers…"

"First, I have one more question for Argis." I said. "Why did you save us?"

"I'll explain everything later, Dina." She replied with a sigh. "I promise."

"Okay then." I said. I turned my head and nodded to Kira, who turned the wheelchair around and pushed me out of the room.

"So people with superpowers actually exist?" I asked Kira when we got back to my room.

"In a way, yes." She replied as she helped me into the bed. "We try to keep it hidden as much as possible, but some of us are what you might call magicians or sorcerers. But just like in the movies, there are good magicians and bad magicians."

"Is there a way to tell the difference?" I asked.

"Not at first glance." She replied. "Their actions are the only way to define them as good or bad."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. We immediately agreed to change the topic of our conversation back to my recovery progress to avoid them hearing about all of this.

"Come in." I said, covering my leg with the sheet again. Two people that I immediately recognized walked in. I sighed in relief after realizing it was just Todd and Pauleen coming to check on me.

"Hi, guys!" I said excitedly.

"DINA!" they both excitedly shouted at the same time.

"You're finally awake!" Todd said in excitement.

"How are you feeling, digadig?" Pauleen asked.

"Better than I was before…" I replied. "So you heard what happened, right?"

"Rupert explained most of it to us." Todd replied.

"We know that you lost your leg, but we'll try to help out however we can, digadig." Pauleen said with a slightly saddened tone on the first part.

"It'll be tough, but we'll manage." Another familiar voice said. Todd and Pauleen turned around and saw Rupert standing behind them.

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"About thirty seconds." Rupert replied.

"But I didn't release you." I said. "Did you guys?" Todd and Pauleen shook her head. Kira looked confused.

"I released myself." Rupert said. "I just found out I can do that."

"Okaaaaay…" I said. "Good to know…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Kira said. "I'm completely lost."

"Rupert is a human that I turned into a vivosaur by reviving him with the revival machine." I explained.

"That's impossible." Kira replied.

"Nothing is impossible, Kira." Yet another voice said. Another familiar person walked in, much to our surprise.

"Why are you here, Argis?" I asked, a bit confused. "A few minutes ago, you were in your hospital bed with a hole in your chest and a broken arm… Now you're back in your normal outfit and the cast is gone…"

"I told you I heal quickly." Argis replied. "I've even been cleared for release already."

"That was way faster than ten times the average recovery speed." Kira said. "And I'm surprised they already released you. You just woke up yesterday and you just finished recovering… And how do you know my name?"

"Again, I'll explain later." Argis said.

"So your name is Argis?" Rupert asked. "That's an interesting name…"

"You'll be hearing a lot of weird names soon if you're being attacked by who I think that girl was." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm not sure why yet, but it's possible you're being hunted by magicians." Argis said.

"Magicians?" Rupert asked, obviously skeptical.

"Yes." Argis said. "Magic is real. I'm a magician and so is Kira. And if I'm right, so was that girl we fought."

"Who do you think she was?" I asked.

"Yami Sentōki." Argis replied. "An elite necromancer and aeromancer whose name is Japanese for 'Dark Fighter.' She wasn't even using her magic."

"Necromancer?" I said questioningly. "As in a death magician like Zongazonga?"

"Yes, only stronger. And an aeromancer means she can use various forms of magic involving the air." Argis explained. "Again, I didn't confirm it, but I'm almost sure it was her."

"Why would magicians be hunting us?" I asked.

"I don't know." Argis said. "It could have something to do with you killing Zongazonga though."

"But why wait four years to strike if that was the case?" Todd asked.

"I don't know, Dina." Argis replied. "But if they attack again, I'm willing to protect you again."

"But I don't want someone to die just because of me…" I said. "I'm not worth dying over."

"But you don't deserve to get killed either." Argis said.

"I'll be right back." Kira said suddenly. "I'm going to try to convince the staff to release you. If you're being hunted, they may know you're here, which could put you in serious danger."

"Okay…" I said, confused and trying to let all of this sink in. Kira returned after a few minutes.

"Done. Now let's get out of here." She said. She helped me into the wheelchair and started to push me to the exit.

"Wait…" I started.

"Before you ask, yes, I'm going with you." Kira interrupted.

"Why would you help us?" Rupert asked.

"Do you want to be vulnerable if someone attacks you with magic, or would you rather I be there to negate the attacks for you?" Kira asked.

"I see your point." Rupert replied. "Let's go."

With that, we ran to my house, since it was the closest of our homes. We knew we wouldn't be safe for long there, but it would keep us safe for now. The real question was how long it would keep us safe. We needed to find a safe place ASAP, but we didn't know if such a place existed. They knew where we were when they attacked, so we knew there was a high chance that we were being watched at that moment. All we could do is wait and pray that we didn't get attacked again.

**That's chapter 4. Keep reading and reviewing!**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Ally

**This chapter takes place the next morning. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 5: A New Ally

I woke up the next morning to the ringing of my alarm clock. I actually have one of the old clocks with the bells on top instead of a digital one.

I turned off the alarm and tried to get up, only to remember that I only had one leg. But I didn't remember that until the part where I tried to stand up and fell. Luckily, Rupert released himself and caught me before I hit the ground. He helped me back to the bed, got my wheelchair ready, and helped me into it.

"Thanks." I said before releasing the brakes and having Rupert push me to the dinner table. Pauleen had to cook now since I couldn't walk or even stand. Luckily, she's almost as good as me at it, or at least with breakfast foods, anyways.

After our breakfast of sausage, eggs, toast and bacon, we decided to go talk to Joe and see what he thought about the situation, though he probably already knew. We needed his advice, though. He knew the park better than anyone, so if there was any safe place, he would most likely know about it.

But we barely even left the house before running into trouble.

"Gah!" Is the noise I heard as something struck Todd in the left shoulder and knocked him down. There was a small explosion behind him that left a hole in the wall of my house and sprayed small metal shards everywhere. He stood up, but he had a hole completely through his shoulder and his arm was already covered in blood. I looked around, but I didn't see anyone. I didn't hear a gunshot, so either a sniper had shot him from quite a distance or they had a silencer. Most likely both.

I saw Pauleen collapse and heard her scream in pain as another explosion nearly blew her left leg off. The sight of this made me feel a bit nauseous.

Then I actually heard a gunshot and saw someone fall out of a tree in the distance. I heard the sound of a bolt-action gun releasing a shell casing behind me. I turned to see who was there and saw a girl that was probably around my age with a powerful-looking sniper rifle in her hands.

This girl was extremely skinny. She had black hair and creepy blood-red eyes. She was wearing a black skirt, red skinny jeans, black boots, and a black long-sleeved shirt. But she had cut off the right sleeve, exposing her right arm.

But there was something strange about her arm... It was silver instead of the tan color of her skin. It took me a moment to realize that her arm was a prosthetic. But it wasn't an average prosthetic. It was a robotic one. She had either created it or modified a pre-existing one. The normal ones have a seperate battery pack, but this one didn't. Not to mention it was clearly able to move faster than a normal robotic prosthetic. An average one would have been damaged by the recoil of a gun like that, meaning its durability was enhanced, as well.

"Are you alright?!" She shouted.

"I'm fine, but I don't know about Pauleen. I replied. "Todd could use a bit of help, too..."

"I'll be okay..." Todd said, clearly trying to act tougher than he was.

"Todd, you have a hole through your shoulder and blood soaking your arm and shirt." The girl said. "You're not okay. Here, let me bandage that up for now." She took a few strips of cloth and a few gauze pads out of her bag, then tied the cloth around his arm to hold the gauze on. "That should help for now."

"Who are you anyways?" I asked. "And why do you have a gun?"

"My name is Selena." she replied as she walked over to Pauleen and started tying a tourniquet to her leg. "I stole this gun from another shooter and came to help. I'm a huge fan of the Caliosteo Patrol Team and I really wanted to help out."

"Well I'm glad you did or we would probably all be dead by now." I said. "So thanks."

"Glad I could help!" She said. "Why don't you guys stay at my place? I have a high-tech security system and my house doubles as a mini-hospital and robotics lab!"

"So I'm guessing you made your right arm yourself?" I asked. She nodded.

"I noticed your leg is missing, so I can make a replacement for that, too!" She said.

"Well, if you can keep us safe and fix my leg, I'll go with you!" I said a bit excitedly.

"Great!" She exclaimed. "Let's go!" She picked up the now-unconscious Pauleen and carried her. Todd followed her and Rupert helped me do the same by pushing my wheelchair. Argis and Kira ran outside and followed us.

"What took you two so long?" I asked.

"We didn't know what was going on until we looked out the window and saw the new girl here." Kira said.

"Well her name is Selena and she offered us a new place to stay for now. She's also going to replace my leg!" I explained.

"Good." Argis said. "Let's go."

_That was convenient..._ I thought as we headed to Selena's house. _Almost too convenient..._

**The next chapter will begin upon their arrival at Selena's house. And in case you didn't know this from reading the original AAtC, Selena is not my character. She belongs to a guest under the name WinterGirl. Keep reading and reviwing!**


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